Unconditional Love
by jannelie
Summary: It was a problem that couldn't be solved. Jerza . Slight angst.


**A/N: I'm sorry if it seems a bit lazy at the end. I stayed up pretty late finishing this fic. I had an idea of doing this sort of prompt when they get together, like an emotional talk where they confess eachother's feelings. I hope you guys enjoy. (:**

**Summary: It was a problem that couldn't be solved.**

**Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and all of its characters.**

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**Unconditional Love**

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On rare ocassions, it was easy to fall asleep. Usually after a big battle, he would already be on the road to dreaming.

But on most nights, his mind didn't allow him too.

Just like this one.

He was consumed in self condemnation as he thought of the past events that had occurred lately. Jellal sat far from the campfire where everybody else resided and slept, with his legs extended out and crossed, and his arms folded stubbornly across his chest. As a soft, cold breeze flew through the hollow chamber, making his hair sway across his pale face, he let a sigh of exhaustion escape through his lips. He wanted to fall into a deep slumber, but he just couldn't. Not with his mind controlling him in every way possible.

The mage actually thought it was quite funny. The moment when he was freed from his possession, he was sent spiraling into a state of comatose, when he woke he went into a period of amnesia, and right when all of his memories were returned he went right back to being controlled.

_This time_, by a never ending feeling of remorse.

Jellal's eyes closed. As he remained there in complete utter silence, the color of a vibrant shade of red took over his maimed vision.

_Scarlet._

The whole idea of him crushing his own eyes was uncalled for to say the least. Although, Jellal didn't mind. It was a minor degree of what he should have inherited.

_I deserve more than just a pair of blind eyes,_he thought.

However, he couldn't help but think about what life would be like if he couldn't see _her_ again. At the thought, the blue haired mage shook his head vigorously, trying to rid of the desire that implanted itself inside of him. "Be logical Jellal," he whispered to himself. "You _can't_."

"Can't what?"

Her small voice sent a shiver of fear down his spine. The teenager laughed at his shocked expresion.

"Meredy?! Why are you-"

"You know," she began, poking his shoulder hard. "I thought you would have sensed that I was sneaking up on you, as usual. You were thinking hard about something, weren't you?" She chimed, possessing a knowing smirk on her face. Jellal moved slightly each time as she poked him.

"I was tired," he lied.

"Really? Then why aren't you sleeping?"

He grabbed her hand in annoyance and pushed it off his shoulder. "Why aren't _you_ sleeping?"

Meredy rolled her eyes and sat against the same wall, staring at him over to her right. "I couldn't sleep," she said. Her tone was a mixture of curiosity and sleepiness. "What's your excuse?"

He already knew that she knew the answer, so he didn't reply.

"Tired…" she thought out loud. "I never knew you mumbled things like that when you're tired…"

Not one word came out of his mouth, he only positioned his head straight forward, as if he was staring at the rock wall in front of him. After a while of waiting for his answer, she sighed. "That bad, huh?"

Jellal waited a minute, trying to contemplate his words. Meredy looked at him hopefully from the side of her eyes, but it was no use, for the only thing she got out of him was a small nod. She looked over to the new members of Crime Sorciere making sure they were still sound asleep before responding. Cobra could have been listening in, there was always that possibility. But her worries were relieved as a loud snore echoed through the cavern.

Her head whipped back to Jellal. "Talking this out could be good for you, you know."

The man inhaled deeply before saying anything. "…I hurt her."

His guildmate widened her eyes.

"I hurt her… it was because of me that she got hurt," he seethed angrily.

Meredy noticed the sudden clenching of his fists.

There was always times like this where he would be angry at himself for the things he's done in his life. She distinctly recalled the event where Ultear had broken him out of prison, and at the time, they all had no knowledge of his loss of memories. When he got out, all of his emotions spilled on the spot because _he had already remembered them. _And she always knew, she never forgot that Erza was a big part of that. The news of her disappearance on Tenrou Island broke his heart, to say the least. He had hid it from them for a long while, but her mind replayed the times where Jellal had always isolated himself from them, the times where he would be crying by himself without telling them.

They always knew why.

"Tell me what happened," Meredy whispered, touching his hand. The mage stared at him with a worried expression on her face. He opened his sore eyes and looked towards her, his pupils slightly tinged with an appearance of surprise. His vision may have been impaired, but he knew her words and the faces that she would make to match it. The pinkette smiled at him, trying to reassure him that he didn't need to hide anything.

Jellal swallowed. What was he supposed to say?

"I…I-I," he stuttered. His eyes closed again and he made an effort to try and clear his head. "I don't know how to say it…" He said in frustration.

"C'mon Jellal, you can do it!" Meredy quietly cheered, punching him playfully in the shoulder.

"But-" the mage tried to reason. He was cut off instantly.

"Just finish what you started!"

"I love her!" He shouted, his truthful words echoing off the cave walls. He had to let it out. It was inevitable, it was impossible to not to say it. A blush adorned his entire face, and he immediately clamped his hand over his mouth from the realization that he had just admitted that to her. A group of curses escaped him unconsciously, and he sat there trying to stop whatever was trying to come out of his mouth.

He hadn't intended to say that at all!

Meredy's eyes bulged out of her head. That was the last thing she would have ever expected for him to say to her. For him to just come out with that fact caused her jaw to drop to the floor. "W-wow…" she breathed. "You're really honest."

They were back at stage one; the silent treatment.

She stifled a laugh. "I already knew, but…wow."

"I didn't mean to say that," Jellal replied timidly.

"Doesn't matter! You still said it!"

"…But it does."

"Eh?" The pinkette wondered. He turned away and sighed.

"I can't love somebody like Erza," he grumbled.

Meredy scoffed. Right, he couldn't be with her because of his 'light' philosophy that she had no care for. In her point of view, Jellal was the only one for Erza, and Erza was the only one for him. They were meant to be together, but he was just too stubborn to accept that.

"You know…" she began. "Have you ever thought that she might love you too?"

Jellal turned away, and dropped his head towards the ground. His heart stuttered in his chest. "Y-yes, I have."

"So have you considered the fact that you could be hurting her by denying what you feel?" The girl questioned once more.

"Erza doesn't love me. She can't."

The girl snorted, and laughed in his face. "Do you really believe that? Cause I don't. You are the worst liar in all of Fiore, you can't lie to save your own life."

"I wasn't lying when I said that she can't love me," he deadpanned. "I'm not good for her."

"Jellal," Meredy placed her hand on his shoulder. "I know you think you know what's best for Erza, but the only person who can really decide that is herself. Maybe you should start thinking about what's best for you, and what you want. Because all I'm seeing is somebody who's just lying to himself."

She then stood up abruptly, and flashed him a smile. Her feet wandered back to the campfire, and the pinkette laid down near the fiery warmth. "Goodnight Jellal."

After only a few minutes, a deep slumber overtook her. The blue haired mage still leaned against the wall, and heard his friend's words entrap themselves in his ear.

_What did he want?_

* * *

"I got your pigeon!"

Erza walked deep through the forest until she met her long awaited destination. It was a large cave, and she was told to meet there at around 5 in the afternoon. The tiny letter was held between her index finger and her middle finger for him to see.

He didn't say anything until after a few minutes. Jellal nodded. "Take a walk with me?"

"Uh, yeah, okay," she replied hesitantly. He detected the nervousness in her tone, which made him smile to himself.

_If only you knew how nervous I am, _he thought.

They walked side by side for about half an hour through the trees, making small talk on the way. Every few minutes she had to warn Jellal of upcoming trees and bushes, but overall he seemed to do fine even with his destroyed vision. She had no idea why he had requested her here. It was uncalled for when she received another pigeon on her head.

They stopped in front of a crystal blue river bank. Jellal inhaled the crisp, fresh air surrounding the area, then he turned away to the ground. "I'm sorry, I just needed to talk to you about something."

Erza smiled. She then took a few steps forward, being at his side. "About?"

He took a deep breath in before responding to her. He was nervous, but he had to do it. The one word that came out of his mouth shocked her.

"Us," he said bluntly, but quietly.

_Us?_

Her heart began to pick up in speed, and she felt butterflies rage in the pit of her stomach.

"I don't know what you're trying to say, Jellal," she muttered shyly, her face as flushed as the color of her hair. The man sighed resentfully, and he turned to her. It was going to have to come out sooner or later. "Please be h-honest…do you feel anything for me?"

She blushed furiously. She didn't know what to say, or how she was going to say what was on her mind.

He _still_ didn't know?

"W-why a-are y-you asking this n-now?" Erza inquired.

Jellal grabbed her hand tightly, and looked down at her in the direction of her voice. "Because, if you do, I'm going to have to tell you to stop!" It came out without warning, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Her eyes widened considerably.

His words shattered her heart. She felt tears prick the corner of her brown eyes, and it blurred her vision immensely. Her feelings for him weren't small in any way because if anything, they were far from the word 'small'. It wasn't just a crush, or a liking; it was far beyond that region. Loving him was a choice that she made on her own, and she was never one to back down from her own desires. Angrily, she removed her hand from his own grip, and held it again, this time, intertwining their fingers together. Jellal gasped at the touch.

"…No…" She whispered, anger pulsing through her veins.

He glanced at their hands even though he couldn't see them. "Erza-"

"No!" the mage yelled, her tears cascading down her face. Her heart was about ready to explode. He was asking her if she had feelings for him, then told her to _stop?_

"I'm sick and tired of this crap Jellal! When will you get it through your head?!" Her voice began to grow louder, and began to crack.

"Erza-"

She cut him off. "Listen to me first!"

The man had no reply. If she wouldn't let him speak, then what was the point of even trying to argue with her.

"Do you…" the S class wizard said. "Even know what I feel for you? Because what…what I feel for you isn't just _ordinary feelings!_ If you can't tell that I'm in love with you, then open your damn eyes!" She was panting hard now, and Jellal could tell that she was sobbing at the same time. His eyes widened at her sudden confession.

Why couldn't she realize that this wasn't any easier for him?

Erza continued to fight with him. "You have to realize that I don't care! I don't care anymore about what happened in the past! Because that wasn't you! The Jellal I know is standing right in front of me! The kind, sweet, caring, protective boy I knew back then is standing…right…in front of me. But yet, you're still acting like that was you who did all those bad things!"

Jellal shook his head at her words. His own tears were threatening to spill as well, but he bit back his lip and shut his eyes again tightly to stop any flow of water drip from his injured eyes.

"Even if that was you… no matter what you do, I can't stop loving you. I know I shouldn't, but I just can't help myself or stop myself because I'm so goddamn in love with you! I hate it so much!"

His heart pounded in his chest so hard that it was about ready to fly out of his chest.

So _that_ was how she felt?

He _was_ hurting her, just how Meredy said. The realization hit him with a sudden pang of guilt that he was by no means ready for. The sensation was evil, it was worse than any kind that he had ever experienced before. He was hurting her without even knowing it. Her ranting had continued without him listening, because his mind refused to accept any more.

_'This wasn't what I wanted'._

With one quick movement, he pulled on their laced hands and tugged her towards him, pulling her into a warm embrace. They were both quiet as he laid his head on her shoulder and hugged her stronger. It was a desperate act, her words were affecting him in a way that he never knew was possible.

"L-let me go…" Erza whispered angrily.

"No," he held her tighter. "I don't think I can anymore."

His mind was made up.

He was done. He was done trying to deny it all. He knew what he felt. He knew what he wanted.

Jellal pulled slightly back, then steadied his hands on her cheeks. His thumb tenderly wiped away her tears, then dragged it down slowly, searching for her lips. Once he found it, he traced it softly, and lightly.

"W-What are you doing?" She questioned. She had a general instinct of what he was planning to do. He leaned in closer, and she felt her eyes droop when his warm breath fanned her face. "I'm not pushing you away this time…" Jellal whispered softly, before bringing his lips sweetly down to hers.

The kiss was better than their last one. To finally reach her, to finally let it all go, the feeling of it all was exhilarating. He poured all of his emotions into that one touch. Every bit of love that he harbored for her escaped him through the moment.

His confession was clear.

Erza moved with his lips in synchronization, simultaneously letting her tears fall.

* * *

That day, everything changed.

The sunset fell upon them, and the night began to make it's path in. Ever since then, they both began to notice the changes in the way they viewed life.

The mornings were exceptionally brighter.

The nights were easier.

The days were growing shorter.

They both never forgot that what they felt for each other, it wasn't just a simple _love. _The fact that it took so long was just an explanation that they _weren't _simple at all. Although they were nothing more than complex, their reason to it was easy. Unconditional love; that was the only suitable description that they were able to come up with.

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A/N: For those who couldn't tell, yes Jellal is blind. He maimed his own vision, but his other senses make up for it so he can do an okay job on his own.

Please leave reviews, thank you!


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